Seven things you didn't know about SC's death row, including how Pee Wee Gaskins made an inmate's head explode

The cost of new voting security in South Carolina

DACA recipients and supporters converged on the SC state house to encourage law-makers to support a bill that would grant in-state tuition and allow for Dreamers to obtain state licenses. Tracy Glantztglantz@thestate.com

DACA recipients and supporters converged on the SC state house to encourage law-makers to support a bill that would grant in-state tuition and allow for Dreamers to obtain state licenses. Tracy Glantztglantz@thestate.com

‘Dreamers’ say they need SC Legislature’s help to have a better future

Cynthia Soria was looking forward to starting college and advancing her career plans.

But, despite living on Hilton Head Island since she was a young girl, Soria discovered she could not get in-state tuition or a state scholarship. Why? Because she is a recipient of DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

Unable to afford college, Soria now works at a CVS pharmacy and has decided she wants to become a pharmacy technician. Then, she learned she couldn’t get the necessary state license because, again, she is on DACA.

So Soria, along with about 70 other so-called “Dreamers” and their allies, crowded into the lobby of the S.C. State House Wednesday to ask lawmakers to pass a bill that could unlock the door to their future.

Never miss a local story.

Sign up today for a free 30 day free trial of unlimited digital access.

State Rep. Neal Collins, R-Pickens, has introduced legislation that would allow DACA participants – who arrived in the country as children without legal documents – to pay in-state tuition at S.C. colleges, apply for state-sponsored scholarships and receive professional licenses from state boards.

Currently, Dreamers with federal DACA protection can attend S.C. colleges and universities. But they are not eligible for state-sponsored scholarships that other S.C. students can get. Instead, they have to pay tuition at the same rate as an international student.

When they graduate, the DACA students discover they can’t work in any profession that requires them to be licensed by a state board — from nursing to cosmetology.

At least 187 DACA recipients applied for state licenses from 2013 to 2017, the state Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation says. All were turned down because of their immigration status.

“From a conservative standpoint, it doesn’t make sense to invest in many of these kids in K through 12, only to obstruct them,” Collins said. “It hurts them, it hurts us, and it hurts our communities.”

Soria hopes her story and the stories of other Dreamers could convince lawmakers to give them a chance.

“I could go to college, pursue a career,” she said. “There are so many things I want to do.”

The fate of the federal DACA program is still up in the air. President Donald Trump has promised to end the program by March 5, and Congress thus far has been unable to agree on a permanent replacement.

But Rep. Collins expects Congress to settle the issue somehow. Even if it doesn’t, any students currently in the program will keep their DACA status for another two years.

“For the next two years, we will have 50 or 60 high school graduates across the state on DACA,” Collins said.

The Dorman High School junior wants to work as a building contractor, which would require him to get a state license. Also, he says he would struggle to afford tuition without assistance at Clemson University, the only S.C. college that offers the courses he needs.